Rout of Survival
by Seiberwing
Summary: Every glorious legacy has to start somewhere. Thrust's career started in a swamp.
1. Command

  
Disclaimer: The Transformers and related suchness do not belong to me 

Author's Note: Wee! My first multi-chapter action fic. Thanks go to Pivot for looking over this and pointing out my typos and such, you are my hero.

**Rout of Survival**

_I am a Decepticon warrior of the air. In my domain, I reign supreme._

A flare of laser-fire whizzed by a fingerbreadth from Thrust's wing.

_And if I don't watch myself, I'm not going to be in it much longer._

Thrust dove and strafed the Autobot who had been shooting at him. The groundcrawler fell, only to be replaced by two more while a third dragged their injured comrade away.

This was getting to be too much. Thrust pulled up and flew up into the dirty yellow clouds, searching for the rest of his unit. He could pick out two or three of his comrades in purple still down on the ground, but they were scattered all over the battlefield.

This battle was supposed to have been a massacre. Instead, there were twice, no, three times as many of the enemy as they had been led to believe. Everywhere Thrust looked, ground and air, there were Autobots. There should not be this many Autobots; where were they all coming from?

Ahead of him, Thrust saw a fellow Decepticon fall out of the sky, screaming out in terror as he desperately tried to engage thrusters that weren't there anymore. His Autobot attacker, a powerful looking shuttlecraft, now turned his attentions on Thrust.

Enough was enough, he was getting out of here. The battle was as good as lost, and he was no idealist to die for no reason at all.

Thrust swerved to the side, and a bolt of laserfire from the ground hit him on the nosecone. Another shot hit his wing, going right through it. The air was exploding all around him and Thrust didn't know which way to turn.

Then he was hurting, falling, screaming, then nothing.

888

The first thing Thrust noticed was that he hurt. There was a dull pain all over his body, but his wings hurt the most. There was also a wet and sticky feeling on the bottom of his fuselage, and Thrust wasn't quite sure if he wanted to know what it was. He transformed and immediately regretted it, gasping in pain as his wing struck something hard beside him.

He was lying facedown in a pile of mud, the view broken up here and there with plants and small rocks. Outside of that, he had no idea where he was. Judging by the dim light and the height of the sun, several megacycles had passed since he had been shot down.

A cursory scan showed injuries in his left leg and rear thrusters. As well, he had sustained severe damage to his wings, although whether it was from getting shot or the crash afterward, he didn't know.

_Grounded. My first off-planet mission and I've been grounded. I am never going to forgive myself._

"What happened?" Thrust groaned, rolling over to rest on his elbows and holding his head. The mech seated on a rock next to him gave him one-quarter of a glance, and then went back to repairing an arm that was barely attached to his body.

"We lost."

Thrust held back a caustic response to this unhelpful information. He was in no condition to be taking on a mechanism twice his size, even if he was in the mood for it.

"I can tell that much," Thrust said as graciously as possible. "What is our status?"

"There are twenty-two of us left. Most are injured."

Twenty-two. There had been over a hundred Deceptions in his unit at the beginning of the battle, which should have been more then enough to handle a small Autobot resistance. Whoever had provided Cloudcrest with his intelligence data needed to spend a few cycles in a torture chamber. Ideally, their commander himself would be in there too, for sending them out into battle so badly informed and unprepared.

Someone was shouting, sending waves of unpleasantness through Thrust's head. Thrust wanted to go over and tell them to stop, but that would require actually getting up, an idea that he was on unpleasant terms with.

"How did…how did I get here?" he went on, trying to ignore the noise.

The other Decepticon grunted in annoyance. "You fell on me while I was in vehicle mode. I didn't feel like transforming to shove your pathetic shell off, so I took you along. We're by Sludge Swamp now."

Sludge, Sludge, where was that? Thrust went over his mental map, but found it hard to think, with all the yelling going on.

There was a clank and a sudden sharp pain in his side. Thrust looked up to see Cloudcrest glaring at him, the intensity of his fiery red optics somewhat dampened by the large dent in his cheek. The commander kicked him again, though not as hard now that he had the other's attention.

"On your feet and get going. We're marching around the swamp to meet Shatterbomb at Cascade Point."

Cloudcrest moved on to do the same to the other Decepticons. Thrust scrambled to get up and trailed after him as he walked away.

"Going around the swamp, that's over ten thousand sions from here. We'll never make it on foot without—"

The protest came at exactly the wrong time for the frazzled Cloudcrest. He'd been dealing with disobedient Decepticons ever since he'd given the order to move on, and Thrust had just gotten on his last nerve. He cut Thrust off with a blow across the face, sending the younger Decepticon sprawling.

"I have had enough of insubordination from my troops! I am your commander, you listen to me!"

Cloudcrest turned back around to argue with the other Decepticons. Despite the blow, Thrust's head was beginning to clear now.

From the ground, he said, "If we go around the swamp in our condition, it will take us at least eight terracycles to reach Shatterbomb's forces, if we even last that long. We're between Autobot lines, and out there in the open we'll be easy targets."

Cloudcrest's wings raised slightly and his arms stiffened as he slowly pivoted to look at Thrust. Barely on this planet ten terracycles and already the rookie wanted to make a bad situation worse. Well, fine then. He would make an example out of Thrust, and maybe that would inspire the rest of the group to obey him.

"I'm sorry, did you have something to contribute, novice?" Cloudcrest punctuated this by jabbing his heel into the exposed circuitry on Thrust's left wing.

Thrust found out abruptly, and quite reflexively, that his weapon systems did still work. Cloudcrest fell back, a large smoking hole through his right shoulder. The other Decepticons watched in sudden interest as Thrust rolled to his feet, ignoring the pain in his leg. Cloudcrest snarled and got up as well, positioning himself in a fighting stance.

Something about this whole scenario struck Thrust as very familiar. He'd seen images during his studies at the Academy of organic predators fighting for domination of their herd or pack. The stronger one would gain leadership, while the other was pushed into submission, exile, or death. From the way things were shaping up, Cloudcrest wanted Thrust to take the second option.

"Stand down, novice, you've got no place talking here," Cloudcrest snarled.

Thrust didn't move. Why hadn't Cloudcrest attacked him yet? The older Decepticon was obviously much stronger and more experienced then him, he should have the advantage.

_Because he knows I'll win,_ Thrust realized. _His weapons systems must have been damaged and no one is willing to lend him a gun. But mine are working perfectly and he knows it. I have the advantage here. I play this right…_

"If we go through the swamp, we'll be well hidden while we travel," Thrust said as calmly as he could. "Chances are we can slip through the Autobot lines unnoticed, with such a small group."

Cloudcrest made a burst of static, the equivalent of snorting in derision. "You must have taken that fall too hard. We'll be walking right into their arms."

"It's better then marching ourselves to death! Look around; does anyone here look like they're in condition to handle that sort of thing? My way is shorter, and better!"

Thrust risked a moment's look to the side. The other Decepticons were gathering, watching. None were interfering just yet for either party. The pack was waiting to see which predator would come out on top.

The shift of attention cost him. Seeing control slipping away from him, Cloudcrest cut his losses and tackled Thrust, knocking him to the ground. Thrust flailed around, trying to get out from under him as Cloudcrest's fist slammed into his face. Thrust managed to free one arm and blast Cloudcrest in the chest once, then again as his commander reeled and fell to the side. He stood over Cloudcrest as the other tried to push himself up. He allowed Cloudcrest to make it onto his knees before pushing him down again.

Thrust turned to the gathered Decepticons. He disliked having to turn his back on his former commander, but any display of fear or weakness right now would be like sticking a "Shoot Me" sign on himself and warping into the middle of Autobot City.

"You, you and you take first watch," he said with as much authority as he could muster as he indicated several Decepticons with relatively mild damage. "The rest of you repair yourselves as best you can and recharge. We can move out when the sun comes up."

Now was the moment of truth. 

The other Decepticons murmured back and forth, pointing and whispering things that Thrust would give his nonfunctioning wings to know right now. He tried to look confident, but internally he was getting the surges. If the crowd scorned his plan, he'd be as good as dead. If, however, they supported him…it would be glorious.

Finally, a titanic battleship whose name Thrust couldn't quite remember—something Wave—made a deep rumbling sound and nodded. Thrust took this as a good sign and stepped toward them, arms wide and welcoming to any new followers.

"Would rather go down fighting then walking," said another, rising to his feet. Others, stimulated by the realization that they would not be acting alone, came forward and voiced their support. Thrust was suddenly seized with a sensation he had never felt before. He was in command. The other Decepticons were looking to him, _him_, for leadership and guidance.

There was something simultaneously exhilarating and terrifying about this.

Cloudcrest groaned and glared up at him, still on his hands and knees. He looked good in that position, Thrust decided. He kicked Cloudcrest and knocked him over onto his side.

"Same goes for you," he smirked.

"If you think I'm—"

Cloudcrest shut up as Thrust crouched beside him and pressed his gun, still warm from having fired moments before, to his former commander's forehead.

"You will do what I tell you. The Decepticons are under my command now, and you are lucky to still be alive. Now behave like a good little Decepticon and maybe you'll stay that way."

Thrust chuckled softly, then rose and left Cloudcrest sprawled out on the ground. As the last bits of natural light fled, the Decepticons squished about looking for a place to rest.

Thrust walked behind a group of boulders and sat down abruptly. Safely out of sight, he dropped his head back against one of the rocks and deactivated his optics. He hadn't realized just how drained he was until this moment.

Thrust did not go into recharge for a long time after that, hearing every tiny sound as a danger. However, his autonomic functions eventually overrode his paranoia and he too rested.

By sunrise the next day, their numbers had dwindled to twenty. With no one to support or repair him, Cloudcrest had gone offline during the night along with one other. Their bodies were quickly scavenged for spare parts and useable weaponry, then left to rust.

Under Thrust's command, the survivors slowly pulled themselves together and walked off into the swamp.


	2. Tactics

Disclaimer: Transformers and related suchness are not mine, with the exception of my fan characters.

Author's Note:Well, here's the next segment. Glad I'm not activly screwing something up. Thanks again to Pivot for betaing this and catching the little mistakes.

Sweetfires: Decepticon democracy involves allowing the people to choose who they don't want to blow them up. Very egalitarian.

Olafur: Yeah, it's a shame that there aren't that many Thrustfics. We're trying to do something about that.

TruebornChaos: Humor is good indeed, although I doubt Thrust is seeing the humor in the situation right now.

SaphireStars: Glad you enjoyed it. He did need a decent origin fic.

Indigo-ink: I suppose it's more efficient then elections. Yes, that is indeed Tidal Wave squishing about in there. More of him to come.

Yuine: Thank you. And Spellcheck is indeed a good thing, but it doesn't catch all mistakes. That's what I have a beta for.

* * *

888 

**Tactics **

888

By the time the sun was halfway up into the sky, Thrust had become aware of several things. He hated mud, he hated insects, he hated plants and he hated his Primus-forsaken damaged wings that screamed in a voice only he could hear whenever he brushed against a tree.

The heat was no bonus either. Or the glare. Or the countless other things that made Thrust wish he had never left Cybertron or better yet, never been created in the first place. He plodded mechanically through the swamp as it became harder and harder to lift each foot out of the mud.

Squish, squish, squish, shlurrrrp…

Thrust suddenly lost a quarter of his height as he sank into ground that was more viscous then he thought it was. He grunted as he tried to pull his legs out.

Turning around, he called out to the Decepticons behind him, "Watch out, the mud here is deeper. You could get stuck."

Another Decepticon shouted back, "Thank you, Commander Obvious!" as he pulled himself out of a similar predicament.

_Don't tell them what they already know, idiot. Now they think you're stupid. What did you think you were doing, getting yourself into this?_

This…this was supposed to be what every Decepticon aspired to. A gain in status, striving for power, triumphing over one's foes. It was the unspoken motto recited every day at the War Academy; it was the ideology preached by Megatron himself.

No one had ever mentioned how nerve-wrackingly paranoid it made you.

In a way, the mindless walking was working to his advantage. They were all heading in the same basic direction, and Thrust's position as leader was mostly devoted to simply walking in front of everyone else. On the other hand, it also gave him way too much time to think, and thus time to agonize over every word that he said, or hadn't said, or was considering saying.

_I'll get better at this as I go along. Megatron copes somehow, and he leads the entire army. All I have to do is lead a bunch of injured Decepticons. Easy as algebra, right? Right._

Attempting to take his little self-pep talk to heart, Thrust attempted to walk more assertively. In the deep mire of the swamp, this was a lot harder then it looked.

A deep, terrified scream came from the back of the line. The other Decepticons turned just in time to see the giant battleship disappear to his shoulders into a deceptively deep pool of mud. Someone yelled, "Tidal Wave's down!"

The battleship flailed around as those Decepticons unlucky enough to be near him scampered out of the way of his frantically waving arms. Thrust shoved his way to the back of the group and stood at the edge of the mud-filled sinkhole. People were staring at him again.

Commander time.

_All right, don't panic. It's just mud, and you've just gotten your largest piece of weaponry stuck in it. You're smart, think of something._

"Help!" Tidal Wave groaned desperately.

"Stop struggling you idiot, you're just sinking yourself deeper," Thrust snapped as he looked around, trying not to appear as nervous as he felt. Tidal Wave stopped moving, whimpering slightly. All the thrashing around had made him sink deeper, until the thick mud was up to his faceplate.

_Think, think, think._

Thrust's glance fell upon a large fallen tree. He pointed at the second-biggest Decepticon after Tidal Wave, an armored carrier named Terminus.

"Um, you. Get that log and bring it over here."

Terminus shrugged and complied, grunting as the huge pillar came out of the soggy ground.

"Now, put it across the mud, and push it out so he can grab it."

Again, the shrug and obedience. Tidal Wave clutched the end of the log gratefully and pulled on it, almost dragging Terminus in with him.

"No, no!" Thrust screamed. "You grab the log and then we pull you out, not the other way around."

Tidal Wave relented, holding onto the log and trying not to move. Terminus tugged on it, but Tidal Wave barely budged.

"No use," the carrier-tank grunted. "He's stuck. We might have to leave him here."

"Don't!" Tidal Wave moaned desperately as his fingers left grooves in the soggy wood.

Thrust pointed at Tidal Wave and commanded, "The rest of you, help pull." The other Deceptions joined Terminus, hauling with all their strength. Slowly, with a squishy schlurping noise, Tidal Wave began to move.

Tidal Wave suddenly cried out again and the log jerked in his grasp as he flailed. Some of the other Decepticons were falling over each other just trying to stay upright, forsaking Tidal Wave for stability.

"What is it?" called Terminus as she struggled to maintain a hold on the log.

"My leg!"

Thrust fired a shot over the battleship's head. "If you don't quit flailing around, we're going to leave you here," he shouted.

"But it's got my leg!"

"Ignore it, or it'll have more then that."

They managed to pull Tidal Wave slowly, disgustingly, to the edge of the bank. Tidal Wave let go of the log and made a grab for safety, but the dirt came away in his hands. He tried again and managed to work his fingers into the ground enough to pull himself ashore, lying halfway out of the mud and shuddering with the effort.

Something glinted under the mud on Tidal Wave's dark leg. Thrust reached down and pulled a small item out of the battleship's knee joint. He looked at it, then immediately dropped it in horror and disgust. The other Decepticons crowded around the item.

It was a metal hand, with two of the fingers missing and the tattered remains of a forearm still attached to the wrist.

Terminus took a step over and peered down into the large hole left by Tidal Wave, which was quickly filling up again. The armored carrier looked uneasily at the other Decepticons, then backed away from the mud hole.

Thrust shuddered. "Let's move on."

There was no argument.

8888

The Decepticons stopped again at sunset. Navigating Sludge Swamp during the day was hard enough; at night it would be near–suicidal. Thrust also judged that it would be best not to push the other Decepticons too much in one day.

The decision was of course aided by the fact that if he had to take one more muddy step, he would go into stasis lock right there and then.

Thrust picked out a reasonable dry portion of ground covered in dead leaves and sat down, pulling his knees up to his chest and putting his head on them so as to place as little of his body on the dirty ground while he recharged. Thrust listened as the other Decepticons moved about, talking quietly. Their voices were so low that he couldn't understand exactly what they were saying.

There was a loud rustling and crashing behind him.

"Gah! Watch it, you idiot!"

"Stupid hunk of junk, you better not step on me!"

A rhythmic thumping noise gradually came nearer and the stars overhead were blocked out as Tidal Wave came to stand beside him.

"Yes?" Thrust said with a hint of annoyance. He was tired, and the pain in his wings was not helping any. A soft rumble came from the battleship, but no words. He seemed unable to find a way of saying what he wanted to say.

"Are you over here for a reason or do you just like standing over people?"

"You didn't leave me behind," Tidal Wave said abruptly, as if trying to get the words out before he could regret it. It was the longest and fastest sentence Thrust had ever heard him use.

The tension drew out as Tidal Wave stared down at Thrust for a few moments.

"You're not as stupid as you look, are you?" Thrust asked quietly. The response was a soft, almost melancholic chuckle. Thrust watched as the battleship sat down as gently as he could a few meters away. He nodded, Tidal Wave rumbled, and they left it at that.

This, Thrust would have to keep in mind.

888888

Around midmorning of the next day, a cry of "Get down!" sent the Decepticons crashing to the ground as several ships flew overhead. Thrust huddled underneath some fallen foliage and was silently grateful that even the most colorful of their number were so filthy as to be camouflaged.

"Autobots," hissed the Decepticon beside him. Thrust nodded as he saw the ominous red insignia displayed on the side of the ships.

"Where are they going?"

"Into our path," Terminus commented as the ships landed somewhere ahead of them. Thrust nodded again absentmindedly, considering their options.

We could go around them, but to stay out of sensor range, we'd have to go quite a bit out of the way. Just like Cloudcrest wanted, not going to do that. 

"We keep going," he announced.

Thrust braced himself, and sure enough the cries of "Are you insane?" rose up like clouds of thick smog.

"We. Keep. Going," he repeated. "I have an idea for how we can get around them."

The other Decepticons griped a bit, but no one else had any ideas. This was good, because Thrust didn't either.

Within half a megacycle they had caught up to where the Autobots had set up some sort of base camp in a large clearing. The Decepticons crouched at the edge of the treeline, unseen. Thrust pointed at the gathered Autobots as more emerged from the ships, carrying equipment and engaging in loud banter.

"Wish I knew what they were doing. From here, I can't even tell how many there are."

A smallish green Decepticon crept up beside him. "G'me t'cycs."

"Huh?"

Rows of thin, sensor covered spines on the green Decepticon's back rose to an erect position as he stared intently out at the Autobot ships, obviously looking with more then his optics. Thrust looked at him inquiringly, waiting for results.

The spines lay down again a moment later. "I re' fi'six 'bot en'gy sigs ou' dere. 'Struction k'ipment, c'ple o' auto guns. Ships're und'armed, but thicks'inned. Ha'lers, pr'ly."

Thrust shook his head and stared at him. The green Decepticon must have come from Vilnacron or nearby; Thrust had never been able to get the hang of northern accents.

"I cannot understand a word you just said."

"Crackle says he reads fifty-six Autobot energy signatures, as well as construction equipment and a couple of autoguns. The ships have light weaponry and heavy shielding, probably cargo ships," the Decepticon on his other side said tiredly. "They outnumber us. Thrust, we might be able to take down half of the ones outside with an all-out charge, but we'd be smoked in the end."

Thrust ignored him, staring out at the Autobot ships.

_It can be done. I know it can be done. It has to be possible if I only see it._

Suddenly Thrust was back at the Academy, watching a tactical simulation play out on the monitor before him with Gyrocopter peering over his shoulder and waiting for his brightest strategist to come up with results. There was always a way of winning in those exercises, they were set up that way. You only had to know how to find it.

_Think._

Thrust got up from his crouch and walked back to where the rest of the Decepticons were waiting. " I have a strategy," he announced.

He explained his plan in as much detail as possible, making sure everyone knew where he needed to be and what he needed to do. At the conclusion, he offered the obligatory, "Any questions?"

Crackle piped up, "How w'know s'gon woak?"

Thrust took a moment to decipher this, then replied, "We have the element of surprise. We know what will happen; they don't. And we have quite possibly the greatest advantage of all."

He paused for dramatic effect.

"We are desperate."

He walked up and down before the assembled Decepticons.

"Without one of those ships, we will have no way out of here besides as prisoners of war. We will fight, and we will win, because we can do nothing else. You have trusted me so far, and so far I have not led you astray. Will you trust me now?"

The moment of silence afterward was excruciating as Thrust realized that he had just delivered the second-cheesiest speech of his life.

_Great, now they're all going to laugh at me._

Those with working weaponry began checking their guns, brushing off dirt and making sure they were still functional. Others got up and began to move to their assigned positions. No one laughed.

This, to Thrust, was just as good as thunderous applause. His tense body relaxed a fraction.

_Well, great tactician,_ he said to himself sarcastically, _let's see if your luck holds out._

* * *

Y'know, Tidal Wave was originally supposed to only have a bit part in this thing. Then he kinda came in and took over. Funny how these things work, nye? Anyway, read, review, hopefully come back for the next chapter. 


	3. Attack

Author's Note: Thanks once more to Pivot for being my beta. We love ya!

Draange: Interesting? Interesting is good, right? I could use a little more review then that.

Olafur: I think I kinda know what you mean. This isn't gonna be like a major battle or something, but its not one-on-one either. Less of the fic just beginning and more of being midway, unless this thing runs away from me again.

TrueBornChaos: I'm sure they're all going to have a laugh over this later, but right now they're focusing on not becoming dead.

SaphireStars: Gotta break the stereotypes. Big and silent doesn't mean mentally retarded

Sweetfires: I think someone once said, "Everybody wants to be leader, but no one wants to lead".

Master Solo: You might; Thrust isn't too hot on being down to earth.

Indigo-ink: I've developed a theory. The higher in the Decepticon hierarchy you are, the cheesier your lines are.

Owlman114: Uh, wow. Thanks. I like making the characters realistic, especially the bad guys. Nobody's perfectly evil for no reason, the Decepticons are just fighting in the way they've been trained to. And I _was_ kind of thinking about soldiers in Vietnam or something like that, sneaking around in the jungle.

**Attack**

"Tidal Wave. Tidal Wave. Tidal Wave."

Thrust could hear a soft chanting coming from Tidal Wave as the battleship pulled a last-minute tree branch over his head and crouched lower on the ridge above a shallow ravine. He chucked a rock at Tidal Wave and the noise stopped.

"Why are you doing that?"

Tidal Wave shrugged and the branch fell off again. "Don't know. Makes me feel…strong."

All right. Perhaps not the most orthodox of battle cries, but whatever worked. Thrust also ducked back down, scanning the other side of the ravine and making sure everyone was in place.

"Save it for the fighting. Right now I need you to be quiet."

"Yes, sir."

Sir. No one had ever called him that before. Suddenly Thrust's situation came crashing down on him. This was no tactical simulation. He was directing an actual battle, one in which actual lives, including his own, could be lost.

It felt surprisingly good. More than that, it felt right.

Maybe he was built for this after all.

The sound of distant crashes and yelling intermingled with weapons fire became gradually louder. "They're coming, get ready," Thrust whispered, more to himself then anyone else.

He had sent the fastest Decepticons ahead to make a false raid on the Autobots' encampment. They'd taken a few small but essential items and run off, tricking some of the Autobots into following them. Obviously, a good number would stay back with the ships and supplies, but Thrust had factored this into the plan.

_:Thrust, we're almost at your position:_

"Good. Keep to the plan, we're ready for you."

As the "raiding party" came crashing through the woods into the ravine, the hidden Decepticons opened fire on the pursuing Autobots. Trapped in the crossfire between more Decepticons than they had expected, the Autobots tried to turn and run. They were met with the sight of Tidal Wave exploding from out of the trees and blocking their escape on one side, and Terminus doing the same on the other.

Thrust was finally allowed to relieve some of his pent-up tension as they mowed down the Autobots like targets at a firing range. It was barely three minutes before all but one Autobot were dead, and that one injured. Thrust had specifically instructed that the last Autobot to enter the ravine be left alive, so that he might betray his faction.

A message on the com came through from Crackle, who was playing lookout at the edge of the treeline.

_:Th' c'min', Th'ust:_

Perfect. You could always count on Autobots to come to the aid of their friends. The survivor had been left to call for help, and lure more Autobots away from the ships. Terminus turned the cringing leftover into scrap metal and Thrust gave the signal to move out.

The Decepticons on Thrust's side of the ravine scrambled down one side and climbed up the other to join their fellows. The other Autobots would be coming down this way, but would be prepared for another Decepticon ambush at the ravine. However, they would find neither ambush nor Decepticons when they got there.

Thrust led the Decepticons in a large curve, going around the Autobot forces. He could hear them crashing around, searching for their foes as the Decepticons crept away along their predetermined course. With their limited timetable, the Decepticons had not had anytime to practice the maneuver. They were trusting Thrust, and Thrust was trusting a combination of what he'd seen earlier and his own instincts.

They met up with Crackle back at the treeline. The walking sensor array reported in his brutally mutilated version of Common Cybertronian that there were now only fifteen Autobots left with the ships. Thrust nodded and looked around at the gathered troops, tense and waiting for their next move.

"Is everyone here?"

There were nods of assent and Thrust turned to Gridcrash. "You know what you have to do?"

"Yes."

An Autobot ship—in fact, any proper ship—had security codes built in to ensure that not just any old mech could come and take it for a joyride. You had to have the proper codes and clearance, and _then _you could take it for a joyride.

That was where Gridcrash came in. There was no Autobot system outside of the ultra-high security ones at Autobot City that Gridcrash couldn't get into, as far as anyone knew. He had already earned legendary status back at the Academy for hacking into the computers that controlled the training program, turning the Autobot holograms into crosses between certain unpopular instructors and large slugs. If anyone among them could hijack an Autobot ship, he could, and would probably manage to look cool while doing it.

Thrust held up three fingers, then two, then one. He paused for one moment, then pointed straight out.

"Go."

The horde burst from the trees, destroying anything and anyone in their path as they charged for the closest Autobot ship. Thrust stuck close to Tidal Wave and tried not to get shot. Ground combat wasn't his specialty. Weapons flashed and people shouted, and Thrust just hoped everyone would stay focused enough to remember they had a goal. Tidal Wave kept moving and Thrust kept shooting until they, along with the other Decepticons, reached the ship and piled inside. The first Decepticon in killed the single Autobot sitting at the controls and pushed his corpse aside. Gridcrash sat down and within five seconds the welcome hum of engines was heard.

"Get us out of here!" Thrust yelled as the cargo doors shut behind the last Decepticon.

"Don't have to tell me twice," Gridcrash replied cheerfully as the ship lifted off and shot off towards the east, in the direction of Cascade Point. Behind them, the Autobots frantically scrambled into the three remaining ships to give chase. Gridcrash pushed the ship faster as several Decepticons manned the guns.

Thrust opened a channel to the Cascade Point base. The gray Decepticon who appeared on the screen seemed about to snap at them, but started at seeing Decepticons broadcasting from an Autobot source.

Thrust wasted no time. "We've taken an Autobot ship and are being pursued. Grant us safe passage—"

"Who are you?"

Thrust's fingers twitched in annoyance. They did not have _time_ for this.

"We're the remnants of Cloudcrest's unit. Look, I'll explain later."

Another Decepticon appeared on the screen, possibly a superior officer. He also scowled, and leaned forward toward the screen.

"That's impossible," the new mech said. "That unit was wiped out."

"We're approaching the base, they'd better make up their minds soon," Gridcrash interjected.

Thrust let some of his edginess leak into his voice. "Let us through or we'll be wiped out anyway!"

For the agonizingly long span of almost a minute, the other Decepticon considered as the ship shuddered from being fired upon.

"All right," he said finally. "But this had better not be a trick; we'll have guards waiting for you on the landing pad."

As the commandeered ship zoomed over Cascade Point, the base's auto-guns swerved to focus on its pursuers. The Autobots turned back as quickly as they could, but their ships were made for cargo, not maneuverability, and two were easily destroyed.

A group of Decepticons from the base took off after the third as Thrust's ship touched down on the landing pad. The hatch opened to a view of dozens of Decepticons, all pointing weapons and suspicious expressions at their ragtag group.

It was, quite possibly, the most beautiful thing Thrust had seen all day.

* * *

Don't go away, 'kay? I was planning on making this only three chapters, but it seemed more efficient to split it up into four. Read and review, more stuff coming soon. 


	4. Finale

Usual disclaimers apply. Thank you to Pivot and Olafur for looking this over for me.

Owlman14: Addictive? Uh oh. Don't tell the feds, they might make me illegal and then where would I be?

SaphireStars: Well, fight scenes are what Decepticons do best. Thanks!

Olafur: He had to have gotten the reputation somewhere, right?

Draange: I suppose he can take that as a compliment. Thrust's used to being disliked; as long as he's winning, he doesn't care about public opinion.

TrueBornChaos: I guess with time he got bigger in the ego and experience and smaller in the common sense and interpersonal skills department. As much as I like him, yes, Thrust was a bit of a jerk by the time "Armada" came around. More to come on that.

Yuine: Sorry if I was confusing. I see your point.

SabreJustice: That was the intention, yes. Scary depends on perspective, in my opinion.

* * *

**Finale**

A rested, repaired, and best of all, _clean_ Thrust leaned back on his recharge berth and relished the feel of cold, hard metal against his back.

_I did it._

After all of that, only four casualties and no deaths during the entire battle. All three Autobot ships had been destroyed, the few survivors taken into Decepticon custody. And it was all because of him. Would Cloudcrest be proud?

No, he'd probably just be very slagged off. But then again, that wasn't his problem anymore, now was it?

Outside, Thrust could hear the liquid rush of a thunderstorm pounding into the roof and walls of the base. The war-like thunder and lightning only served to soothe him further as he dimmed his optics and put one hand behind his head. Perhaps he'd go for a walk along the wall after it finished raining. From his current perspective inside the base, the muggy environment didn't seem quite so bad.

_:He,y Th'st:_

"Yes, my dear, dear friend?" Thrust replied smoothly as he toyed with an empty energon flask.

_:St'p bein' s'dam smug. Sh'rbom' wanna see ya:_

The flask clattered to the ground.

"Commander Shatterbomb? Are you sure?"

Crackle made a static noise over the com in annoyance.

_:Yahuh, ya win'ut. Ge' goin':_

Thrust quickly stood up and brushed imagined dirt off his arms before darting out the door. He rushed down the hall, pushing past other Decepticons in his way without even looking at them. A hundred thoughts were whirling through his mind, most of them very illogical and some just outright silly.

He came to a sudden halt in the middle of the hallway, ignoring the irritated stares of passerbys. "Crackle," he said flatly into his com.

_:Mm:_ came the vaguely amused response.

"Exactly where _is_ Shatterbomb?"

As he listened to Crackle's guffaws, Thrust mentally reminded himself that taking the effort to hunt down and kill him would probably not be a good way of using Shatterbomb's time.

888

Thrust did eventually find the commander's temporary office on the north end of the base. He nervously pushed the button by the door, and then stepped inside, snapping to attention in the middle of the room. Shatterbomb was waiting for him, one hand resting on his desk and a blank but slightly haughty expression on his face.

Thrust wasn't quite sure what to expect. A question about his report, a compliment on a job well done, maybe even-did he dare to hope-a promotion?

"What happened to Cloudcrest?" Shatterbomb asked calmly.

That was the question? Maybe he'd filled out the report wrong, that was it. Thrust wasn't used to the complex forms and documents that were inflicted on leaders of attacks; perhaps Shatterbomb hadn't been able to understand him.

"He went offline due to severe injuries. Sir." He watched Shatterbomb's face nervously, searching for any indication of whether that had been sufficient.

Three thin blades spaced around Shatterbomb's forearm slid out with a light rasp of metal-on-metal and Thrust eyed them nervously.

"Do you know the consequences for attacking a superior officer?" Shatterbomb asked as he leisurely approached the frightened cadet.

"I, uh, I didn't actually--"

_Think quick, Thrust. This is going to be bad._

Shatterbomb folded his arms and lightly fingered one of the blades, an obvious threat.

"I read the reports. Cloudcrest died of injuries inflicted by you, not by the Autobots. You killed him. Murdered him."

Thrust shifted his weight slightly, optics glued to the blades even as he knew it was insubordination, that he should be looking Shatterbomb in the face and standing up straight. He couldn't help it, he was terrified. Shatterbomb was a relatively high-ranking officer, only on this pathetic blotch of dirt to do a routine inspection. If the commander was taking notice of him specifically, he had to have done something outrageous.

And, of course, the least comforting bit of information possible popped into his head. Hadn't Shatterbomb been the one who recommended Cloudcrest to lead Thrust's unit? Cloudcrest had been bragging about it for hours after he got the news, how Shatterbomb had obviously noticed his greatness and was promoting him based on his own merits and not simply because their previous unit leader had gotten his head blown off. Of course, why hadn't he remembered that earlier? It must have been so annoying that he had deleted the memory from his storage files.

Well, it had been a decent life. Not a great one, but Thrust would still miss it.

Shatterbomb's finger moved up the blade and Thrust resisted the urge to take a step back.

He set his shoulders and replied, "Cloudcrest would have lead us all to our deaths by taking us around Sludge Swamp. I suggested an alternative and he attacked me."

"And so you shot him in self-defense?" Shatterbomb countered, idly inspecting his blades and testing the sharp edge of one with a fingertip.

Right answer? No, wrong answer: a trap. If he answered like that, he'd sound weak.

"He was obviously unfit for command, so I destroyed him."

Shatterbomb was silent, still teasing the tip of his blade thoughtfully as he stared at the lower-ranking Decepticon fidgeting before him.

_He's enjoying this,_ Thrust thought. _He wants me to squirm. Well, I'm not going to give him that pleasure._

He remained rigid as Shatterbomb drew closer, yellow optics locked onto him as if to destroy him with his powerful gaze before the long blades had even begun to penetrate the his spark casing.

_I will keep my optics on. I will not flinch, I will not back away. I am a Decepticon, I am a Decepticon. I am--_

"I never liked that smelter-reject anyway."

The blades retracted with a soft "snick" and Shatterbomb stepped back again. Thrust nearly fell over in relief.

"Those supplies you brought us will be put to good use, and the destruction of their other ships will put the Autobots back a few months," Shatterbomb continued matter-of-factly as he turned his back on Thrust and walked behind his desk. "However, there is the slight matter of what I'm going to do with you."

He tilted his head slightly, then picked up a datapad and held it out. Thrust took it so quickly as to border on rudeness.

"Cloudcrest was scheduled to be reassigned to Planet Aztac after his mission was over. You will take his place."

Thrust glanced over the datapad as a matter of manners, though he already knew most of what was on it. Aztac was a medium-sized planet about two light-years away with little organic life outside of the large oceans-thank Primus for that-but an abundance of natural resources. The Decepticons had been preparing an assault on the small Autobot mining colony there, and having a foothold here on Planet Thescen would help to both support their side and keep the Autobots from sending in reinforcements.

Thrust had actually been planning on applying for a transfer to Aztac as soon as he had done enough to earn one. He'd already filled out half the paperwork, and the other half was sitting in his quarters, waiting for similar treatment. Now it was practically being handed to him with Shatterbomb's compliments.

"Report to the launch bay at the established time. Dismissed."

Thrust saluted and left. As he stood outside the door, he looked over the datapad again, this time a bit more closely.

"What the…"

The format was different, not what you'd expect on an average transfer form. There were higher security codes then he was used to, plans that weren't available to common soldiers. Thrust was on the brink of running back into Shatterbomb's office and asking if a mistake had been made before he realized what was going on.

This wasn't a transfer.

This was a promotion. A big one.

_Shatterbomb wants me_ _to help lead the Aztac mission. Lead it!_

A deep chuckle rose in Thrust's vocalizer as he walked back to his quarters, looking over the plans. Other Decepticons walked past him, some still glaring after his previous actions on the way to Shatterbomb. Thrust didn't care what they thought, he wasn't even there. He was flying high over Aztac's glinting waters, watching Autobots crash and sink below the waves, hearing the rousing cheers of his unit as he led them to victory.

_Commander Thrust. Oh, I like the sound of that._


End file.
